It seems like every day a new groundbreaking tool “guarantees” you’ll write more business and transform everything you ever learned about selling insurance.

You buy into it, only to discover that the reality doesn’t live up to the hype.

What’s the deal? After all, isn’t technology supposed to be a cure-all for all your sales woes? The truth is, as innovative as these tools may be, they don’t replace the tried-and-true tactics insurance agents have relied on for years. If they did, there would be no role for agents to play at all.

What these tools do offer, however, is reinforcement. Technology will never replace the need for agents, but it can enhance their capabilities by building on methods of personalization, service and human expertise—all of which have served the industry well for decades.

1) Personalized contact is essential to winning over a prospect who may be bombarded by many choices of agents and carriers. But while a personalized contact once implied an in-person meeting at your corner agency, it’s no longer synonymous with face-to-face interaction.

Today, personalized service means meeting a customer wherever they are—which, more often than not, results in a virtual transaction. Customers want convenience. And when they’re working and busy during the same hours your team is working, you have to be flexible in order to reach them.

For example, our agents saw a major bump in business when we began using software to contact prospects via text message. It gives prospects the option to respond on their terms, and converts dead-end voicemails into meaningful conversations and sales.

2) Attentive service and ongoing follow-up is the key to multi-lining and client retention. Does a customer like their policy? Have they experienced any life changes that may require more coverage? Do they have a new opportunity to save?

Periodically asking these questions used to require a meticulously kept Rolodex and cramped hands from writing notes. Because follow-up was often relegated to the “down time” of the workday, these tasks could get pushed to the next day, then the next week, until eventually calls to customers occurred sporadically throughout the year without strategy.

Today, follow-up can be both personal and automated. Tools like Velocify or Vertafore AMS360 offer the ability to create custom, timed email campaigns composed by the best writer at your agency.

Many of these tools give you the option to auto-insert the client’s name and personal details into the email, and you can always tweak a message for extra personalization. If you prefer a handwritten note, computerized services use a sample of your handwriting to create a similar font. All of these services free up hours for your team—and help ensure you don’t miss a beat when it comes to follow-up.

3) On-demand access has traditionally been one of the biggest selling points of a local agent. Agents used to provide their home phone numbers for clients to call in the event of an emergency—no matter the time of day.

You may still want to provide your clients with this kind of access, but technology makes it possible to offer around-the-clock service without the 3 a.m. phone calls. Investing in a useful website or mobile app adds heightened professionalism to your business and grants clients immediate, on-the-go access to view their current insurance information, file a claim or alert you in the case of an emergency.

4) A highly trained team is an agency’s most valuable asset. This used to mean your employees required years of trial and error before becoming experts.

While nothing will ever replace the value of hard-earned experience, today’s tools can certainly speed the learning curve with on-demand learning and training. Access to a library of online tools means agents can pull up information in the middle of a client conversation, going from “I think” to “I know” in a matter of seconds. Employees still need hands-on knowledge gained over time, but in the short term, knowing how to find the answers to questions is just as important as memorizing them.

As an agent in today’s marketplace, you’ll constantly encounter new techniques and technologies. As circumstances evolve, so must your strategies and practices. But there’s no silver bullet for all the challenges you face in prospecting new clients and keeping existing ones. Success relies on your ability to carry on the best traditions from the past, then carry them further with a little help from modern advances.

Clint Houck is the general manager at Margo, a Philadelphia-based digital insurance agency offering home, renters, and auto coverage and a new insurance concierge service.